“Super High Level”: Victoria Azarenka Reasons Out Her Loss Against Paula Badosa at Indian Wells Final 2021

The women’s final at the 2021 Indian Wells turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of the season. Paula Badosa defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 in a nail-biting encounter and won the Indian Wells title on her tournament debut.

At 5-4/30-0 in the deciding set, Azarenka was just two points away from clinching her third Indian wells trophy. However, a series of errors resulted in Badosa breaking her service game to push the match into the tiebreaker.

Oct 17, 2021; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Victoria Azarenka (BLR) hits a shot during the women’s final against Paula Badosa (ESP) during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Victoria Azarenka reflects on her defeat at Indian Wells

During the post-match conference, the two-time Australian Open champion reflected upon the high octane match. The match duration of 3 hours and 4 minutes was a testament to the fighting spirit of both the finalists.

“The entire match the quality of tennis was super high level. We were both going for our shots, really pushing each other to the max. “That’s what made it super entertaining, that competitive spirit, really fighting for every ball, not giving in anywhere,” said Azarenka.

During the final, the Belarusian saved eight of the 13 break points faced she faced while the Spaniard fended off 10 of 17. Badosa, who defeated four Top-20 players en route to the victory, became the first Spanish woman to lift the Indian Wells title.

Post her historic win, Badosa has risen to a career-high ranking of World No.13 and is in contention for a spot at the Akron WTA Finals in Guadalajara. The 23-year-old also earned a whopping $1.2 million as prize money.

For Azarenka, this was her first WTA 1000 final of the 2021 season. Since 2016, the 32-year-old has won just one title, which she won last year at the Cincinnati Open.

Despite losing the final, Azarenka defeated some of the top-ranked players en route to the final. She knocked out Petra Kvitova in the second round, Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinal, and Jeļena Ostapenko at the penultimate stage.

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